


Five Times Ryuji Got KO'd (and One Time He Thankfully Didn't)

by Raaj



Category: Persona 5
Genre: (we'll see if I write ren/ryuji/ann or not), Canon-Typical Violence, atm there's no romance, character & relationship tags may be added in future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:21:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23266894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raaj/pseuds/Raaj
Summary: In which Ryuji takes risks and gets whalloped with the consequences a bit more often than the others, and everyone else would rather he not.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 43





	Five Times Ryuji Got KO'd (and One Time He Thankfully Didn't)

**Author's Note:**

> Updates on this will probably be very slow. I've had an outline sitting in drafts for...quite a while. But given the episodic structure of 5+1 prompts, I figured each one should be able to stand on its own enough that it'd still be worth posting the first part now.

The first time Ryuji gets knocked out, he wakes up to two anxious faces and a monster-cat hovering over him. He thought he was used to Monamona's weird appearance, but maybe he flails a _little_. It's the damn cat's fault for being all up in his face.

Morgana rolls his eyes, but his voice is gentler than usual when he speaks. "You see, Panther? He's fine. Right, Skull?"

"Uh, my head kinda hurts."

Morgana winces at that correction, but Ann outright jolts. "Oh! Let me patch you up--" The blonde puts a hand on her red mask, but her sudden movements throw her off; she sways dizzily, and Ren catches her by the elbow to steady her.

"No. Sorry, Skull--everyone. I pushed you all too hard. We should leave for the day."

After a few blinks, Ryuji can focus enough to see that yeah, everyone looks a wreck, Ren included. As soon as they got in sight of the castle's tower, suddenly all the shadows upped their game like crazy...Ryuji guesses he just caught the worst of it. He wishes Ann could heal him, but damn, he should be glad to be waking up at all, huh? So he chomps down on the devil fruit Ren hands over and tries to ignore his pounding headache. Unfortunately, it doesn't go away when they return to the real world.

Ann texts in the group chat the next morning to ask if he's feeling better, and he answers honestly that it's still hurting a bit, but he'll be good for infiltrating the next day. Ren starts typing a response, but never sends it. Well, maybe it wasn't him but Mona messing with the phone. But Ryuji knows the guy will see the chat, so it's no big deal.

Ren doesn't call an infiltration the next day, though. And he doesn't add anything when Ryuji and Ann text about how many days they have left before the board meeting.

Ren doesn't call an infiltration the day after that, either, and he ducks his eyes away from Ryuji when Ryuji throws his arm over the guy's shoulders after classes are done. So Ryuji steers him up to the rooftop to talk.

"Kamoshida isn't the only one who could die," Ren says after enough prodding. Morgana's hopped out of his bag and is pacing around the perimeter of the rooftop.

"We just had one bad fight. We can get medicine for next time, right?"

"He already got it," Morgana calls.

"There you go. You're pretty reliable."

But Ren's face darkens. "I don't know if we should go back."

Morgana doesn't throw a hissy fit about their 'deal', doesn't even pause in his patrol. The feline's face is impossible to read, but Ren must have already brought this up to him, making Ryuji more indignant that this is the first he's hearing about it. "You can't be okay with getting expelled, Ren. Actually, ain't it worse than that for you? Your probation--"

"I'd rather be in juvie than have you or Ann die."

Ren must be pretty worried if he's saying things like that, and Ryuji wonders what he missed while he was knocked out. "No one's gonna die, Ren. I'll be more careful next time."

"It wasn't your fault."

"Wasn't yours, either," Ryuji says, because Ren still won't look him in the face. "That stuff about pushing us too hard? Bullshit. I can't wait to see the look on that perv king's face after we steal his treasure. An' Ann's the same way. Hell, you think you could protect her by backing out of this? She'd just try burning the whole thing down on her own."

"She'd hardly be on her own," Morgana objects, pausing to stop and lick his paw. For someone who says he's not a cat, he sure acts like one. "That said, Ren, Ryuji actually has a point. Your concern for your companions is admirable, but don't forget their own wishes."

"What was that 'actually' for?" Ryuji huffs, throwing a glare.

It's cut short when he realizes Ren is actually starting to look up at his face instead of just staring at his sneakers. "Do you still want me leading, then?" the transfer student asks, his words slow and careful. "If you want to..."

"You're the one who juggles Personas, man. It makes more sense for me to follow your lead in a fight than me try to, uh, micromanage you." Besides, even if Ryuji thinks he could maybe be a half-decent leader in a pinch, Ren needs to get it through his head that he's not the screw-up he seems to be thinking he is, and that's not going to happen if he steps down now.

Gray eyes stay on Ryuji's face a little longer, analyzing, and Ryuji never really knows what to make of Ren's expressions--'cause half the time the guy doesn't even _have_ expressions--but he knows his own's gotta be showing that he's 100% certain of going back in, even if it's risky. No way he could back down now. Kamoshida needs to get what's coming to him. Ren closes his eyes for a second, and then he's focused on his phone, tapping the chat app open. "Guess we better get back on the infiltration, then. Today work for you?"

"Yeah. You letting Ann know?"

"Yeah. Just--let me know right away when you start getting tired."

Huh. Ren really is kind of a worrier, huh? Ryuji gives him a jaunty little salute. "Aye-aye, cap'n."

There's a flicker at Ren's lips, almost a smile, and the matter is dropped after that.

Until the next time Ryuji gets knocked out, anyway.


End file.
